A Good Marriage

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV)

Tomorrow marks our 35th wedding anniversary. God, in His infinite wisdom, joined me in covenant to a man of exceptional value; a man whose passion for the Lord drew me into friendship; a man of tremendous generosity; a man of integrity and moral character; a man of steadfast heart, faithfulness, and loyalty; a man who would say:

“I would rather be God’s servant than man’s king.”

It is this man who I have been privileged to walk through life with. It is this man who I owe so much to. It is this man who I thank God for every day. Celebrate with me as I rejoice in the provision of God, Who loved me and gave to me an incredible gift.

Below are just a few of my favorite quotes about marriage. I include one from my daughter, Hannah. Obviously, she has learned from watching her father to wait for a man of quality–God’s choice, first and foremost.

“Boys are like chocolate. So, skip the Hershey kisses, and wait for the Ghiradelli.”–Hannah L. Johnson

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.”–Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go… But, of course, ceasing to be “in love” need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense — love as distinct from “being in love” — is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriage) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God… “Being in love” first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.”–C.S. Lewis from “Mere Christianity”

“As long as a marriage is founded on a good solid incompatibility, that marriage has a fair chance of continuing to be a happy marriage, and even a romance.” –G.K. Chesterton in the “Incompatibility in Marriage”

“There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.” — Martin Luther

“A good marriage is like an algebra equation with two variables. You have to define “x” in terms of “y” and vice versa; the one in relation to another. It is said that you have to be a “whole” person before you can be with another, but this too is vanity. No one is whole. Thus, the two shall become one flesh; each variable defined by the other in an equation written by the greatest Mathematician.”–Lee Marshall